A low-cost composite of activated charcoal supported titanate nanotubes (TNTs@AC) was developed via the facile hydrothermal method to remove the 17β-estradiol (E2, a model of pharmaceutical and personal care products) in water matrix by initial adsorption and subsequent photo-degradation. Characterizations indicated that the modification occurred, i.e., the titanate nanotubes would be grafted onto the activated charcoal (AC) surface, and the micro-carbon could modify the tubular structure of TNTs. E2 was rapidly adsorbed onto TNTs@AC, and the uptake reached 1.87 mg/g from the dual-mode model fitting. Subsequently, the adsorbed E2 could be degraded 99.8% within 2 h under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. TNTs@AC was attributed with a unique hybrid structure, providing the hydrophobic effect, π−π interaction, and capillary condensation for E2 adsorption, and facilitating the electron transfer and then enhancing photocatalytic ability for E2-degradation. In addition, the removal mechanism of E2 was elucidated through the density functional theory calculation. Our study is expected to provide a promising material for environmental application.
A Wigner distributionlike function based on the improved strong-field approximation theory is proposed to calculate the rescattering time-energy distribution (RTED) of high-energy photoelectrons of atomic above-threshold ionization process in few-cycle laser fields with different frequencies. The RTED shows bell-like stripes and the outermost stripe is compared with semiclassical results given by the simple-man model with consideration of different positions of tunnel exit and different initial longitudinal momenta. Analysis indicates the existence of the tunnel exit. However, though it shifts farther away from the core with decreasing frequency, the position of the tunnel exit is significantly less than the prediction by adiabatic theory even for the low-frequency case which is well in the tunneling regime. Our results also imply that the effect of the tunnel exit is more important than that of the initial longitudinal momentum at the tunnel exit for the backward-scattering electrons. Moreover, the inner stripe structures in the RTED are attributed to interference between electrons with the same final energy emitted at different ionization times.
The cytotoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) to microorganisms has attracted great attention over the past few decades. As an important participator in the nitrogen cycle, aerobic denitrifiers have been proven to be negatively affected by TiO2 NPs, but the mechanism of this effect remains unclear. In this study, the bacteria-nanoparticle interaction was investigated by exposing an aerobic denitrifier, Pseudomonas stutzeri PCN-1 to different concentrations of TiO2 NPs at the dark condition, in order to investigate the cytotoxicity mechanism. The results illustrated that aerobic denitrification was inhibited at different TiO2 NPs concentrations from 1 to 128 mg/L, accompanied by the postponement of nitrate reduction and the accumulations of nitrite and nitrous oxide. But this inhibitory effect was mitigated with increasing TiO2 NPs concentrations. Further studies revealed that expressions of aerobic denitrification genes were also inhibited with the presence of TiO2 NPs, and the inhibition effect on napA and nirS genes was more significant than that on nosZ and cnorB, which might directly bring about the delayed nitrate reduction and hindered nitrite transfer. Moreover, the decreased toxicities at higher TiO2 NPs concentrations could be attributed to the formation of larger aggregates (>1000 nm), which greatly reduced the chance for direct interactions between NPs and bacterial membranes, as well as the interruption of denitrifying genes expressions. These findings were meaningful for the formation of deep insights into the mechanism of TiO2 NPs cytotoxicity as well as the development of strategies to control the negative effect of nanoparticles in the environment. Aerobic denitrification characteristics of strain PCN-1 under different carbon sources.
Kris Alexanderson’s Subversive Sea is the newest addition to the growing scholarship on the twentieth-century Dutch empire. Adopting a fresh approach, this groundbreaking work examines the transoceanic aspects of Indonesian anticolonialism by examining the shipping networks stretching beyond the geographic boundaries of the metropole and colony. Based on her solid archival work, careful reading of existing literature, and well-structured analysis, Alexanderson demonstrates how the “oceans’ permeable boundaries created a simultaneous liberating and threatening maritime spatiality” and that “the maritime world is not a liminal space but an active political arena” (p. 27). Specifically, she points out Dutch shipping companies “connected disparate bodies of water into intertwined transoceanic networks” and played a “unique role in navigating interwar power struggles between imperial hegemony and anticolonialism” (p. 25). By “repositioning colonial Indonesia to a sub-imperial center,” Subversive Sea reveals that the interconnected maritime networks were not only critical in defining colonial structure within the colonial state but also reflected “fundamental differences between terrestrial and oceanic characteristics particular to the interwar Dutch empire” (p. 2).
The past few years have seen a growing number of scholarly works on British operations in Southeast Asia and their relationships with local resistance in World War II. Particularly intriguing is the mysterious last-minute deal struck between the British in Malaya and the Chinese-dominated Malayan Communist Party, or MCP, before the Japanese takeover...
Information on sales and emission of selected pharmaceuticals were used to predict their concentrations in Japanese wastewater influent through a >300 of pharmaceuticals data sink. A combined wastewater-based epidemiology and environmental risk analysis follow was established. By comparing predicted environmental concentrations (PECs) of pharmaceuticals in wastewater influent against measured environmental concentrations (MECs) reported in previous studies, it was found that the model gave accurate results for 17 pharmaceuticals (0.5 < PEC/MEC < 2), and acceptable results for 32 out of 40 pharmaceuticals (0.1 < PEC/MEC < 10). Although the majority of pharmaceuticals considered in the model were antibiotics and analgesics, pranlukast, a receptor antagonist, was predicted to have the highest concentration in wastewater influent. With regard to the composition of wastewater effluent, the Estimation Program Interface (EPI) suite was used to predict pharmaceutical removal through activated sludge treatment. Although the performance of the EPI suite was variable in terms of accurate prediction of the removal of different pharmaceuticals, it could be an efficient tool in practice for predicting removal under extreme scenarios. By using the EPI suite with input data on PEC in the wastewater influent, the PEC values of pharmaceuticals in wastewater effluent were predicted. The concentrations of 26 pharmaceuticals were relatively high (>1 μg/L), and the PECs of 6 pharmaceuticals were extremely high (>10 μg/L) in wastewater effluent, which could be attributed to their high usage rates by consumers and poor removal rates in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Furthermore, environmental risk assessment (ERA) was carried out by calculating the ratio of predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) to PEC of different pharmaceuticals, and it was found that 9 pharmaceuticals were likely to have high toxicity, and 54 pharmaceuticals were likely to have potential toxicity. It is recommended that this is further investigated in detail. The priority screening and environmental risk assessment results on pharmaceuticals can provide reliable basis for policy-making and environmental management.
Experimental observations from neuroscience have suggested that the cognitive process of human brain is realized as probabilistic reasoning and further modeled as Bayesian inference. However, it remains unclear how Bayesian inference could be implemented by network of neurons in the brain. Here a novel implementation of neural circuit, named the sampling-tree model, is proposed to fulfill this aim. By using a deep tree structure to implement sampling with simple and stackable basic neural network motifs for any given Bayesian networks, one can perform local inference while guaranteeing the accuracy of global inference. We show that these task-independent motifs can be used in parallel for fast inference without intensive iteration and scale-limitation. As a result, this model utilizes the structure benefit of neuronal system, i.e., neuronal abundance and multihierarchy, to perform fast inference in an extendable way.